Amidst the cheerful and lively atmosphere, the 70th anniversary celebration of Yinshan Academy gradually drew to a close.
Accompanied by seventy resplendent fireworks, the memorable event finally came to an end.
After the weekend, everyone readjusted their moods and prepared to return to campus life.
Apartment, early morning.
"Keke, in a uniform magnetic field with magnetic induction intensity B, a stationary radioactive atomic nucleus undergoes alpha decay. The emitted alpha particle moves in a circular orbit on a plane perpendicular to the magnetic field..."
"So, which answer is correct?" Ye Shuang adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and asked the girl who was chewing on the end of her pen.
"Hmm..." Tang Keke made a troubled expression and scribbled on her draft paper again. "Option C."
"Correct. Now explain how you got the answer." Ye Shuang nodded, seemingly satisfied.
Tang Keke said, "Because... three short, one long—pick the longest one... Ouch!"
Her head was promptly smacked with a paper fan. Ye Shuang crossed his arms. "If you keep using that method, I’ll switch to a ruler next time."
Keke stuck out her tongue and timidly glanced to the side—where Bai Yuyou was sitting at the piano, practicing the basic exercises Ye Shuang had taught her. Since she had already learned a fair bit of music theory from playing the guitar, picking up the piano was easier than starting from scratch.
The girl played softly, not too loudly.
"Stop looking. Yuyou’s grades are much better than yours."
"Ugh... it’s so hard."
"If there’s anything you don’t understand, I can start from the basics." Ye Shuang said.
"Here... and here." Fortunately, Tang Keke was willing to learn. Compared to listening to a teacher, Ye Shuang’s one-on-one tutoring allowed her to absorb knowledge at her own pace.
Time flew by, and soon it was almost noon.
"Let’s take a break." After helping Tang Keke finish two sets of practice exams, Ye Shuang finally let her rest.
Tang Keke immediately collapsed onto the sofa in a sprawled-out pose. "I’m... done for."
"That’s all it took?" Ye Shuang chuckled.
"By the way, Brother, my parents actually want to treat you to a meal," Tang Keke suddenly said.
"A meal?" Ye Shuang, who had been bending over to guide Bai Yuyou’s piano practice, turned around in slight confusion. "Why?"
Tang Keke thought for a moment, making a "7" gesture under her chin as if pondering. "Hmm..."
"To celebrate me finally making friends... since they thought someone like me could never have any." Keke looked away, her face full of melancholy, her entire body seemingly shrouded in gloom.
"Why so suddenly serious...?"
But since it was the weekend, Ye Shuang considered his plans—aside from buying a car, he had nothing else scheduled.
He figured he might as well get the car purchase sorted this week, preferably one that was in stock and didn’t require a pre-order.
"In that case, let’s have a meal together." Ye Shuang smiled. "When are your parents free?"
"They’re free today! How about we go over for lunch?" Tang Keke suggested.
"Sure, that works."
Tang Keke’s home was very close to the apartment. The apartment was located in a commercial plaza, while Keke’s family lived in the residential complex attached to the plaza—technically, they were practically neighbors.
"Going... to Keke’s house?" Bai Yuyou also looked over.
"Visiting a friend’s home is a good experience too." Ye Shuang said.
"Oh."
After Tang Keke informed her family, Ye Shuang placed an order on the Sam’s Club app—shortly after, a delivery arrived: a simple box of strawberries and some other items like cookies.
"Ye Shuang, buying fruit?" Bai Yuyou eyed the strawberries, looking like she wanted to eat one.
Ye Shuang explained, "When visiting someone’s home for the first time, it’s polite to bring a small gift. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it’s a basic courtesy."
"Yuyou, understand?"
Bai Yuyou nodded obediently. "Mm."
"Take your time learning. No rush." Ye Shuang pinched her cheek lightly, and Bai Yuyou nuzzled against his hand in response.
Carrying the fruit, Ye Shuang led the two girls toward the residential complex.
Since it was so close, they walked—just a few hundred meters. Plus, Keke had a key to the back gate, allowing them to cut through the commercial plaza.
Tang Keke’s family lived in a duplex in the complex. Given that property prices in this part of Haizhu City averaged 30,000 yuan per square meter, a 200-square-meter duplex wasn’t cheap.
Taking the elevator up, Keke unlocked the door with her fingerprint and announced, "Mom, Dad, I’m back~"
"Come in, come in!" A middle-aged woman in casual homewear stepped out, smiling at Ye Shuang and Bai Yuyou. "You must be the brother Keke mentioned and Bai Yuyou, right? Please, come in."
"Hello, sorry for intruding."
"Auntie, hello." Bai Yuyou handed over the bag. "Fruit..."
"You didn’t have to bring anything! Just a meal..." Tang’s mother said, giving Keke a reproachful look. "Didn’t we agree it was just a meal? Why make guests bring gifts?"
"Oh." Keke scratched her head, having forgotten.
After entering and changing into slippers, a middle-aged man in cotton pajamas emerged from inside—clearly Tang Keke’s father. With glasses and a slightly receding hairline, he greeted warmly, "Hello, welcome!"
"Hello."
After exchanging pleasantries, they all sat down.
The Tang family had prepared hotpot—perhaps influenced by Keke’s "everything-in-one-pot" preference, since neither Tang’s father nor mother were particularly skilled in cooking. Compared to a haphazard stew, hotpot was a much better option.
Even though it was summer, the air conditioning made the meal perfectly comfortable.
"I’m not sure if hotpot suits your tastes. This kid Keke keeps raving about how amazing your cooking is, so don’t judge us too harshly," Tang’s mother said.
"It looks delicious already. You’re too kind," Ye Shuang replied.
"Care for a drink?" Tang’s father asked.
"I can have a little."
"Hahaha, perfect! This bottle here is the good stuff." Tang’s father brightened at Ye Shuang’s response.
A few glasses later, the warmth in their stomachs helped ease the atmosphere. Though Ye Shuang wasn’t fond of alcohol, sometimes it smoothed conversations along.
"Sigh, we’re usually so busy with work, we barely have time to pay attention to our kid... This is the first time she’s ever brought friends home," Tang’s father lamented.
"You know, Keke used to lie about having friends—even pretended to call them to arrange outings..."
"You wouldn’t believe it... her phone screen was still lit up while she ‘talked.’"
Tang Keke’s face flushed red. "DAD, WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
